Partners
by Maiokoe
Summary: Just another day, another job complete. And Lucy comes home to Natsu and Happy, the two having invaded her apartment. She thought she told them time and time again NOT to invade her personal space, but did they ever listen? No. Not in the slightest. Though, this time, Happy might just win a bet, which means fish. NaLu


A/N: Fairy Tail does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form.

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><p>"N-natsu?!" The pink-haired flame-eater snorted, snuggling further into the bed. "What're you doing in my room?! And what did you do?!" He opened on eye at her squawking, frowning lightly. She was glowering at him, her hands narrowed into fists at her side. Angry. "Natsu!" He sat up slowly, yawning and scratching at his head. A moment, and he began to fall asleep sitting up, his head tilting to the side. "DON'T FALL BACK ASLEEP!" And he was across the room, slowly sliding down the wall, his form collapsing in pain on the floor.<p>

"Ow…" he wheezed out, his fingers twitching.

"Jeez, and right when I get back from a job, I have to deal with _you_…" She glared down at him, hands now resting on her hips. Had he been any other man, he might have tried to sneak a peek up her skirt—due to the _fabulous_ opportunity—but he was Natsu Dragneel and such a thing had never once occurred to him. Others envied him for his close proximity to the blonde and shook their heads at his obliviousness.

"I'm here too, Lucy~" Happy voiced from under the comforter, crawling up to pop his head out, smiling pleasantly at her. She turned slowly, her eyes dark and twitching.

"Stupid cat, join your partner!" And the blue furred Exceed was inching down the wall to land on Natsu.

"L-lucy… you're so mean…" both whimpered, still lying on the floor. Her frown twisted into something more sinister before she seated herself on her bed, returning to glaring at them.

"What makes you think you can just come in here without my permission anyway? You always do this! Don't you have your own house?" This was a common discussion and it always went the same way.

"But your apartment's so much nicer!" She rolled her eyes, scoffing.

"That's because you two don't clean. At all."

"Exactly! So we come here~!" Happy leaped into the air, fluttering closer to land on the table. "And…" He clasped his paws behind his back, looking away smugly. "Natsu _missed_ you~"

"H-happy!" Natsu lunged for the cat and he shrieked, dodging his best friend and artner's attempts at strangling him.

"Lucy! Save me!" The cat flew towards her and she blinked.

"Huh? Hey, just wait a—" Natsu leaped and Happy dived upwards.

Next thing Lucy knew, Natsu was sprawled on top of her, a nasty bump on his head where he collided head-first into the wall. She watched in annoyance as his soul left his body, pinning her down. "He _looooooves_ you~!" Happy sang from somewhere above them. She shook a fist angrily in his general direction.

"This is all your fault, stupid cat!" Happy was covering his giggles, his eyes wide as he watched the blonde struggle with the Dragon Slayer's weight. "Idiot, don't just lunge. Think a little," she breathed out as she finally managed to push the male off her. He groaned, holding at his head. "Happy, Happy? You made him run into a wall." The Exceed was having a field day with this, floating above their heads as he laughed and cooed about how in-love they were, all cuddled together and everything. Her eye twitched once again and she was just considering swatting him down when Natsu wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. She froze and Happy just about died, collapsing to the ground as all his predictions were coming to life. Finally, after everything, something he said was true! "N-natsu?"

"Quiet," his face was buried in her shoulder, arms tightening. "Too… loud…"

"Brilliant, Happy! You gave him a concussion!" The cat denied her claim. Natsu shifted even closer, applying more pressure to her shoulder. "Natsu, that kinda hurts, ease up, will you?" She wiggled a bit, trying to get free.

It was getting a little awkward, with how close he was and how he was actually holding her, pressed close together, their bodies—"LET GO!"

"OW!" Lucy was at the bottom of her bed, glowering at the fire mage now holding his head in pain once more, curled up on her bed. Her cheeks when stained red and she held onto herself, trying to get the interesting pictures out of her head and failing miserably. Stupid Dragon Slayer, messing with her emotions again…

"Idiot, don't get all—all touchy on me! That's Loke's job!"

"So you _did_ like it, huh, Lucy~?"

"SHUT IT, CAT!" Natsu moaning, rolling onto his back and pouting up at the ceiling. She stopped glaring at Happy to eye him warily. "You… okay?"

"No." She crawled a few steps closer, sitting beside his and looking down at him. He looked annoyed. "Why'd you hit me, anyway?"

"Because you were being weird." His eyes trailed over to her, his frown deepening.

"I was not."

"You were too. What was that all about, anyway? You were _hugging_ me Natsu." He blinked at her. Happy floating closer, his face contorted in twisted joy as he watched the two. After everything, they were now on the cusp of finally admitting their feelings to themselves, possibly even each other.

That thought occurred to him and then another: Did he really want to be there when it happened? Humans were weird creatures and got…_touchy_ when faced with another's affections. Though it'd be hiliarious to watch the confessions, he doubted he wanted to be there for the aftermath. He quietly snuck out the door, closing it securing behind him and grinning madly.

He was _sooo_ winning those fish he bet back at the Guild.

"I'm tired~" he finally whined, flopping over and snuggling into her pillow. Her eye twitched and she restrained herself from hitting him. "We were waiting for you to get back, Lucy. And you took too damn long," he muttered.

Her look softened a bit. They had a tendency of doing that, showing up randomly and waiting for her when she went on the few jobs by herself of with someone else. "Sorry, it took a little longer than I thought."

"No kidding… We waited all night for you." He turned his head a little, opening one eye to watch her. "It was boring without you here." She smiled lightly.

"Then you should've hung out at the guild."

"It was boring there too. It's no fun without you." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall.

"You seem to do pretty well entertaining yourself at the guild without me there. And even when I'm there." He shook his head a little, his brow furrowing.

"Yeah, but you're still there. I thought we were partners? Why do you go on jobs without us, anyway?"

"You go on jobs without me." He opened his mouth to argue, but her reasoning was sound. He closed it, turning his head the other way and looking out at her room. "I get lonely sometimes at the guild when you aren't their either, you know. Without all your fighting, it's a little quiet."

He was silent for a long time, she thought he actually fell back asleep. She smiled, shaking her head. "Dork. You should sleep in your own bed." She rose, shifting over his form to slide off her bed, her feet hitting the floor. She jumped when his hand grabbed her wrist. "N-natsu?"

"Sorry." He was watching her, his eyes serious. She blushed under his gaze, raising her free hand to wave him off.

"It's fine, it's fine~ I really should be use to this by now, you two practically live here with me, after-all! And you go out on jobs with me to help with the—"

"For making you lonely." She faltered, trailing off to watch him, lips parted lightly.

She smiled. "I have other friends, you know. Erza and Levy-chan, Gray and Wendy. I hang out with them and wait for you two to come back, boasting about this and that, or watching you get scolded by the Master for property damage. I said it got quiet, not that I hid in my room and waited for you to come back. Quiet is nice too, Natsu."

"But we still go without you."

"And I've done jobs without you. No big deal." He sat up, still holding on to her wrist, still serious. Her smile faltered a little. "Natsu? Are you okay?"

"I'll try."

"Try? Try what?" His hand shifted, his fingers curling around her's, holding her hand now. She blushed. "H-hey—"

"Not to leave without you. It's not fun hanging out with that exhibitionist." She rolled her eyes, all her fears leaving her.

So he was upset she was hanging out with Gray? Jeez, their rivalry really was something else.

"He's not that bad. It can be fun, seeing him and Juvia, how they act. It's almost like a comedy show!" '_Until Juvia gets angry at me…'_

"You're my partner." His grip tightened slightly.

"You know, more often than not, we go on jobs with him, Erza, and Wendy. It's not just us three anymore. It's us seven now, Fairy Tail's strongest team. Don't you remember?" He pouted and she settled beside him on her bed, still letting him hold onto her hand. "But yeah. You're still my partner. Tell you what, next job? Just us three, like it was in the beginning. Okay?" He peered at her from the corner of his eye.

"Promise?"

"Well, it's highly unlikely because they'll all end up showing up, but yes. In the beginning, it'll just be us. We'll burn that bridge though when they get on it." A dark smiled curled onto his lips.

"That's not a bad idea, Lucy."

"Eh?" What? Burning a—"No, Natsu, we are _not_ sticking them on a bridge and burning it! Erza would kill you and then she'd kill _me!_" He shrugged lightly, obviously not upset that he couldn't one-up Gray in their win-lose competition.

"Fine. But you're still my partner. You and Happy." She squeezed his hand and he blinked down at their conjoined digits, as if just realizing they were actually _holding hands_.

"Agreed. Now get some sleep before you fall over." The teen had been thrown at a wall—totally **not** her doing—and had been hit a few times too many—also not her fault—and looked about ready to collapse at any moment.

He breathed out a sigh, immediately tugging her down and wrapping his arms around her waist once again, pulling her closer. "H-hey! Wait a se—"

"You're the best, Luce," he breathed, his cheek against her shoulder. She pursed her lips, her eye twitching as she heard his breathing evening out.

He was asleep. The bastard.

"Fine, have it your way, Natsu," she huffed quietly. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye. He _was_ kinda cute when he was sleeping. "I guess I'm a little tired too…" and she prepared herself for a nap, despite the somewhat awkward sleeping position and the hot water bottle next to her. "But you're gonna get it when you wake up…"

Her threat fell on deaf ears and she found she didn't mind too much.

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><p>Ahh, been a while since I wrote anything, huh?<p>

So I started watching Fairy Tail about two weeks ago and now I'm all caught up to the latest episode~! Yippee~! I think these two are adorable~

This wasn't really all that romantic, but it's cute and fluffy~ I like writing them together~!


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